Manti Te'o

Chargers want to retain Manti Te'o

ESPN's Eric Williams believes the Chargers want to retain contract-year ILB Manti Te'o.

What It Means:

The Chargers appeared to be looking towards the future when they spent a fourth-round pick on Joshua Perry and a fifth-rounder on Jatavis Brown, but Williams believes Plan A is to keep Te'o in the fold. Te'o has struggled to stay healthy since entering the league, but he reportedly lost some weight this offseason in an effort to improve his durability and play speed. With sophomore Denzel Perryman ready to take another step forward, the Chargers should have a solid inside-linebacker duo if Te'o can stay on the field.

According to numberFire's metrics, the Chargers defense ranked 25th in the league last season in regards to total points prevented below expectation.